Hvac flow control for micro-zone system

ABSTRACT

A ventilation system for use in a vehicle that provides individual control of micro-zones in the vehicle and the system includes a blower for pushing air through the ventilation system, an evaporator for conditioning the air being pushed by the blower, a first duct for supplying air to a first micro-zone and a second duct for supplying air to a second micro-zone, the second duct partitioned form the first duct, the first and second ducts receiving air once it has been blown through the evaporator and a flow diverter for selectively opening the partition wall and connecting the first duct and second duct so that air continues to flow through the evaporator even when one microzone is completely closed and no air flows through the related duct.

BACKGROUND

Current heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems forautomotive use with multi-zone cooling may include a common evaporatorsystem. When one zone is off, the portion of the evaporator may havelittle to no airflow through it and it may begin to accumulate ice orcondensation. This can lead to undesirable liquids in the HVAC systemand associated ducts. In addition to possibly damaging the evaporator,the water may lead to undesirable smells when the HVAC system is used.Moreover, the current systems for HVAC are inefficient for energyconsumption with a single occupant in the vehicle. Additionally, thecurrent systems may lead to increased warranty claims and/or unpleasantodors in the vehicle HVAC systems.

Therefore, to support reduced energy consumption in vehicles with asingle occupant or with un-occupied seats in the vehicle, there is aneed to reduce or eliminate active heating or cooling to that region ofthe vehicle.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary HVAC flow control system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary diverter having a pivoting door in afirst position.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary diverter having a pivoting door in asecond position.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an alternative diverter.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow diverter having a sliding holepattern in a fully closed position.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the sliding flow diverter in a fully openposition.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the sliding flow diverter in a partiallyopen position.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of the system diverting flow through the pivotingdoor system.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of the system diverting flow through the slidinghole system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to support reduced energy consumption in vehicles with a singleoccupant or with un-occupied seats in the vehicle, a segmented airflowsystem can selectively reduce or eliminate active heating or cooling toa region of the vehicle. This can reduce load on an evaporator and thus,the compressor. This may also reduce vehicle fuel or electrical usage,which may in turn improve fuel economy and/or extend electric range.

In an example, the system may close passages, ducts or outlets in theHVAC or associated ducting and distribution system. In a dual ormulti-zone system this may cause a non-uniform airflow distributionacross the evaporator core. This can lead to degraded performance of theevaporator and/or regions of evaporator icing. Evaporator icing can leadto warranty or customer complaints due to ice formation damaging theevaporator or causing a wet odor being detected by the customer. Singlezone HVAC systems (without independent occupant mode/temperaturecontrols) often have a divider plate in the center of the HVAC forstructure and commonality in design. Base HVAC performance is ensured bydirecting uniformity coverage of the evaporator; micro-zone concepts maysignificantly compromise the uniformity of coverage.

System Overview

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary HVAC flow control system. The HVACsystem 100 includes a blower 110, and a manifold duct 120. An evaporator120, as part of the air conditioning system, selectively cools the airas it passes through it to a driver side primary duct 140A and apassenger side primary duct 140B. The driver side primary duct 140A andpassenger side primary duct 140B are separated by a partition wall 140C.The air blown there through may then pass through a heater core 150before passing to a driver side secondary duct 160A and passenger sidesecondary duct 160B. Moreover, each secondary duct may also include ductcloseoffs 170A and 170B, respectively.

The partition wall 140C provides for separation of the airflow after theevaporator 120 for zone controlled functions. As discussed herein,exemplary embodiments of flow diverters (discussed below) may be locatedalong partition wall 140C to provide for cross-flow of air after theevaporator 120.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary diverter 200 having a moveable(pivoting) door 220 in a first position. The pivoting door 220 mayinclude a pivot point 210 engaged with a controllable actuator. When thedoor 220 is open, partition wall 140C will have an opening 230 therethrough allowing flow of air from driver side primary duct 140A to/frompassenger side primary duct 140B. Such an arrangement allows for air toflow through evaporator 130, while controlling the amount of air passingthrough to the driver side secondary duct 160A and passenger sidesecondary duct 160B.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of exemplary diverter 200 having a pivoting door 220in a second position. Here, pivoting door 220 opens into driver sideprimary duct 140A and is not in a fully opened position. This provides acontrollable size of the opening 230.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an alternative diverter having a dual flaparrangement. A first flap 410 may be opened independently or along witha second flap 420. This may allow for control of the air flowing therethrough. It may also provide for various control mechanisms that closebetween the opening 230, rather than at the extents of the opening.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow diverter having a sliding holepattern in a fully closed position. As an alternative to pivoting door220 (see FIG. 2), the sliding diverter may be placed along partitionwall 140C to allow flow between (when open), or to substantially preventflow between (when closed). A first sliding diverter portion 510includes two holes there through 510A. A second sliding diverter portion520 includes two holes there through 520A. When overlaid as shown inFIG. 5, the holes 520A, 520B do not align. Therefore, there should besubstantially no flow there through. The partitions, when operating, maybe moved by a linear actuator to allow them to slide along one anotherto align or not align holes 520A, 520B.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the sliding flow diverter in a fully openposition. Here, first sliding diverter portion 510 and second slidingdiverter portion 520 are moved so that holes 510A, 520B are aligned andair may flow through partition wall 140C, effectively connecting driverside primary duct 140A to passenger side primary duct 140B.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the sliding flow diverter in a partiallyopen position. When first sliding diverter portion 510 and secondsliding diverter portion 520 are moved to partially align holes 510A,520B then air may flow through partition wall 140C at a rate decidedamount by the of the opening and the pressure of air provided.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of the system 800 diverting flow through thepivoting door system. In this example, pivoting door system (see FIG. 2)is used to fully open opening 230 and fully close off passenger sideprimary duct 140B from air reaching passenger side secondary duct 160B.Flow is diverted 810 entirely to driver side 170.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of the system 900 diverting flow through the slidinghole system. When sliding hole system 500 is open (see FIG. 6) and apassenger side duct closeoff 170B is closed 920, air will flow throughevaporator 130 and be redirected into the driver's side conduit 140A,160A.

With reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the airflow 820 continues to flowthrough both the driver side and passenger side of the evaporator 130.Even with airflow cutoff to passenger side secondary duct 160B, theevaporator 130 will not accumulate ice or otherwise collectcondensation. In this way, the pivoting door 220 may be used to provideairflow through the evaporator while not providing air to the passengerside. Similarly, by using passenger side duct closeoff 170B, air flowsthrough evaporator 130 and through sliding hole system 500.

It is understood that while current descriptions include shutting off,or reducing flow, to the passenger side vents, the same may be done withthe driver's side. Alternatively, the system may be applied tomulti-zone systems that may include many vents. For example, thedriver's side may include separate foot vents, dash vents, andwindshield vents, among others. Moreover, the system may be applied tofirst, second, and third row venting systems.

Conclusion

It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that many ofthe details provided above are by way of example only and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention which is to be determinedwith reference to the following claims.

In the drawings, the same reference numbers indicate the same elements.Further, some or all of these elements could be changed. With regard tothe mechanisms, processes, systems, methods, etc. described herein, itshould be understood that, although the steps of such processes, etc.have been described as occurring according to a certain orderedsequence, such processes could be practiced with the described stepsperformed in an order other than the order described herein. It furthershould be understood that certain steps could be performedsimultaneously, that other steps could be added, or that certain stepsdescribed herein could be omitted. In other words, the descriptions ofprocesses herein are provided for the purpose of illustrating certainembodiments, and should in no way be construed so as to limit theclaimed invention.

Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above description isintended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments andapplications other than the examples provided would be apparent to thoseof skill in the art upon reading the above description. The scope of theinvention should be determined, not with reference to the abovedescription, but should instead be determined with reference to theappended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled. It is anticipated and intended that futuredevelopments will occur in the arts discussed herein, and that thedisclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such futureembodiments. In sum, it should be understood that the invention iscapable of modification and variation and is limited only by thefollowing claims.

All terms used in the claims are intended to be given their broadestreasonable constructions and their ordinary meanings as understood bythose skilled in the art unless an explicit indication to the contraryin made herein. In particular, use of the singular articles such as “a,”“the,” “said,” etc. should be read to recite one or more of theindicated elements unless a claim recites an explicit limitation to thecontrary.

We claim:
 1. A ventilation system for use in a vehicle, comprising: ablower for pushing air through the ventilation system; an evaporator forconditioning the air; a first duct and a second duct having a partitionwall there between, the first and second duct receiving air blownthrough the evaporator; and a flow diverter for selectively creating anopening in the partition wall and connecting the first duct and secondduct.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the flow diverter includes aselectively movable actuator for positioning the flow diverter.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the flow diverter comprises a pivoting door.4. The system of claim 2, wherein the flow diverter comprises a slidinghole system.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein the system furthercomprises a third duct connected to the first duct, positioneddownstream of the flow diverter, and a duct closeoff positioned withinthe third duct.
 6. The system of claim 2, wherein the evaporatorincludes a first side and a second side, connected with the first ductand second duct, respectively.
 7. The system of claim 6, furthercomprising a control system to selectively open the flow diverter tomaintain flow through first side and second side of the evaporator.
 8. Aventilation system for use in a vehicle, comprising: a blower forpushing air through the ventilation system; an evaporator for coolingthe air having a first portion exit and a second portion exit; a firstduct connected to the first portion exit; a second duct connected to thesecond portion exit; a partition wall between the first duct and secondduct; and a flow diverter for selectively connecting the first duct andsecond duct.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the blower selectivelypushes air through the evaporator.
 10. The system of claim 9, whereinthe flow diverter selectively opens and closes to create an opening inthe partition wall between the first and second duct.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the flow diverter may substantially close off flowthrough the second duct and route the air to the first duct.
 12. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the flow diverter does not close off flowthrough the second duct.
 13. The system of claim 12, further comprisinga duct closeoff positioned after the flow diverter within the secondduct.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein duct closeoff prevents theflow of air out of the second duct and forces the air through thediverter to the first duct.
 15. A ventilation system for use in avehicle, comprising: a blower for pushing air through the ventilationsystem; an in-line evaporator; a first duct and a second duct having apartition wall there between, the first and second duct receiving airblown through the in-line evaporator, the in-line evaporator having afirst evaporator portion connected to the first duct and a secondevaporator portion connected to the second duct; and a flow diverter forselectively creating an opening in the partition wall and connecting thefirst duct and second duct.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein acontrol system controllably moves the flow diverter for maintaining airflowing through the in-line evaporator.
 17. The system of claim 16,wherein the control system substantially prevents portions of thein-line evaporator having no airflow.
 18. The system of claim 17,wherein the control system controllably opens flow pathway between thefirst duct and second duct to maintain air flowing through the firstevaporator portion and the second evaporator portion.
 19. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the flow diverter comprises a pivoting door.
 20. Thesystem of claim 18, wherein the flow diverter comprises a slidingopening arrangement.